Cars pass Boeing’s assembly plant in Everett. The company is cutting more than 12,000 jobs in the U.S. due to a sharp decline in air travel during the coronavirus pandemic. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Cars pass Boeing’s assembly plant in Everett. The company is cutting more than 12,000 jobs in the U.S. due to a sharp decline in air travel during the coronavirus pandemic. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Boeing cutting more than 12,000 jobs with layoffs, buyouts

The company said it will lay off 6,770 workers this week, and another 5,520 are taking buyouts.

EVERETT — Nearly 10,000 Boeing workers in Washington will be out of a job in coming weeks as the result of layoffs and buyouts.

The Boeing Co. is cutting more than 12,000 jobs in the U.S. due to a sharp decline in air travel during the coronavirus pandemic, the company said Wednesday.

Boeing said it will notify 6,770 U.S. employees this week that they will be laid off. For most, their last day will be July 31. Another 5,520 U.S. workers are taking buyouts and will leave voluntarily in coming weeks. About 9,840 employees in Washington are included in the total, the Chicago-based company said.

Boeing previously said it would cut 10% of a global workforce that numbered about 160,000. A Boeing spokesperson said Wednesday’s actions represent the largest number of job cuts, but several thousand additional jobs will be eliminated in the next few months.

Boeing currently employs about 70,000 in Washington. About half of those workers, nearly 35,000, are employed in three shifts at Boeing’s main wide-body assembly plant in Everett.

Boeing declined to say how many workers at the Everett campus would be affected. “We are not sharing that level of detail — just the statewide total,” Boeing spokeswoman Jessica Kowal told The Daily Herald.

Meanwhile, a few hours after the layoff announcement, Boeing said it has resumed production of the grounded 737 Max at the Renton factory.

The company said production would proceed at a “low rate” but did not specify what that rate might be. When it suspended production of the troubled 737 Max in January, the Renton assembly line was building 42 planes a month.

The 737 announcement was preceded and overshadowed by release of a memo sent Wednesday to employees in which Boeing President and CEO David Calhoun said the company had concluded a voluntary layoff program initiated earlier this year.

“And now we have come to the unfortunate moment of having to start involuntary layoffs,” Calhoun said. “We’re notifying the first 6,770 of our U.S. team members this week that they will be affected. We will provide all the support we can to those of you impacted by the involuntary layoffs — including severance pay, COBRA health care coverage for U.S. employees and career transition services.”

Calhoun said Boeing’s international locations have also begun the process of laying off workers.

The pandemic has cut global air traffic by up to 90% and caused airlines to postpone or cancel orders and deliveries of new planes. Air travel within the U.S. tumbled 96% by mid-April, to fewer than 100,000 people on some days. It has recovered slightly. The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 264,843 people at airports on Tuesday, a drop of 89% compared with the same Tuesday a year ago.

“The COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating impact on the airline industry means a deep cut in the number of commercial jets and services our customers will need over the next few years, which in turn means fewer jobs on our lines and in our offices,” Calhoun wrote. “We have done our very best to project the needs of our commercial airline customers over the next several years as they begin their path to recovery. I wish there were some other way.”

Calhoun warned that Boeing will have to adjust business plans constantly because the pandemic makes it hard to predict the impact on the company. Boeing faces the challenges of keeping employees safe and working with suppliers and airlines “to assure the traveling public that it can fly safe from infection,” he said.

The company temporarily shuttered jet-assembly plants in March after dozens of workers contracted the virus, and one died. Boeing’s deliveries of commercial airplanes have plummeted by two-thirds this year compared to a year ago. Production resumed in late April, but at a slow pace.

Union representatives said they were still seeking details of the layoffs. About 1,300 members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, which represents Boeing engineers, had been approved for severance packages, including one week of pay for every year of employment, up to 26, according to the union.

“This is an extremely tough time for anyone working in aerospace, and certainly at Boeing,” said Bill Dugovich, a union spokesman. The union has been running webinars to explain Boeing’s severance program and how to apply for unemployment, he said.

“It will take some time for the company to reduce our workforce by the approximately 10% we announced, but today’s numbers represent the largest segment of layoffs. The several thousand remaining layoffs will come in additional tranches over the next few months,” a company spokesperson said.

The defense and space division of Boeing is stable and will help blunt the impact, the company said.

Boeing’s crisis began with two crashes of the 737 Max, which led regulators around the world to ground the jetliner last year. The company’s problems have deepened with the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’ve been on a continuous journey to evolve our production system and make it even stronger,” said Walt Odisho, vice president and general manager of the 737 program. “These initiatives are the next step in creating the optimal build environment for the 737 Max.”

By The Associated Press and Herald writer Janice Podsada; jpodsada@heraldnet.com; 425-339-3097; Twitter: @JanicePods

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

A closing sign hangs above the entrance of the Big Lots at Evergreen and Madison on Monday, July 22, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Big Lots announces it will shutter Everett and Lynnwood stores

The Marysville store will remain open for now. The retailer reported declining sales in the first quarter of the year.

George Montemor poses for a photo in front of his office in Lynnwood, Washington on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.  (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Despite high mortgage rates, Snohomish County home market still competitive

Snohomish County homes priced from $550K to $850K are pulling in multiple offers and selling quickly.

Henry M. Jackson High School’s robotic team, Jack in the Bot, shake hands at the 2024 Indiana Robotics Invitational.(Henry M. Jackson High School)
Mill Creek robotics team — Jack in the Bot — wins big

Henry M. Jackson High School students took first place at the Indiana Robotic Invitational for the second year in a row.

The computer science and robotics and artificial intelligence department faculty includes (left to right) faculty department head Allison Obourn; Dean Carey Schroyer; Ishaani Priyadarshini; ROBAI department head Sirine Maalej and Charlene Lugli. PHOTO: Arutyun Sargsyan / Edmonds College.
Edmonds College to offer 2 new four-year degree programs

The college is accepting applications for bachelor programs in computer science as well as robotics and artificial intelligence.

FILE — Boeing 737 MAX8 airplanes on the assembly line at the Boeing plant in Renton, Wash., on March 27, 2019. Boeing said on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, that it was shaking up the leadership in its commercial airplanes unit after a harrowing incident last month during which a piece fell off a 737 Max 9 jet in flight. (Ruth Fremson/The New York Times)
Federal judge rejects Boeing’s guilty plea related to 737 Max crashes

The plea agreement included a fine of up to $487 million and three years of probation.

Neetha Hsu practices a command with Marley, left, and Andie Holsten practices with Oshie, right, during a puppy training class at The Everett Zoom Room in Everett, Washington on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Tricks of the trade: New Everett dog training gym is a people-pleaser

Everett Zoom Room offers training for puppies, dogs and their owners: “We don’t train dogs, we train the people who love them.”

Andy Bronson/ The Herald 

Everett mayor Ray Stephenson looks over the city on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2015 in Everett, Wa. Stephanson sees  Utah’s “housing first” model – dealing with homelessness first before tackling related issues – is one Everett and Snohomish County should adopt.

Local:issuesStephanson

Shot on: 1/5/16
Economic Alliance taps former Everett mayor as CEO

Ray Stephanson will serve as the interim leader of the Snohomish County group.

Molbak's Garden + Home in Woodinville, Washington will close on Jan. 28. (Photo courtesy of Molbak's)
After tumultuous year, Molbak’s is being demolished in Woodinville

The beloved garden store closed in January. And a fundraising initiative to revitalize the space fell short.

Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin, Advanced Manufacturing Skills Center executive director Larry Cluphf, Boeing Director of manufacturing and safety Cameron Myers, Edmonds College President Amit Singh, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, July 2 celebrating the opening of a new fuselage training lab at Paine Field. Credit: Arutyun Sargsyan / Edmonds College
‘Magic happens’: Paine Field aerospace center dedicates new hands-on lab

Last month, Edmonds College officials cut the ribbon on a new training lab — a section of a 12-ton Boeing 767 tanker.

Gov. Jay Inslee presents CEO Fredrik Hellstrom with the Swedish flag during a grand opening ceremony for Sweden-based Echandia on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Swedish battery maker opens first U.S. facility in Marysville

Echandia’s marine battery systems power everything from tug boats to passenger and car ferries.

Helion Energy CEO and co-founder David Kirtley talks to Governor Jay Inslee about Trenta, Helion’s 6th fusion prototype, during a tour of their facility on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
State grants Everett-based Helion a fusion energy license

The permit allows Helion to use radioactive materials to operate the company’s fusion generator.

People walk past the new J.sweets storefront in Alderwood Mall on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Japanese-style sweets shop to open in Lynnwood

J. Sweets, offering traditional Japanese and western style treats opens, could open by early August at the Alderwood mall.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.